The processing of electronic components in the semiconductor industry sometimes involves rotational motion of a process station on which electronic components are mounted or held. The process station may comprise a rotary support which undergoes rotary motion in clockwise and/or anticlockwise directions. Particularly, connectors such as electrical cables and pneumatic hoses are often joined to the process station in order to provide power and various functions to the rotary support for processing the electronic components.
For instance, the electrical cables may supply electrical power and carry sensing signals to a heater module of the process station. The cables may also carry control signals from a motor driver to either a servo motor or a stepper motor coupled to the rotary support in order to drive the support to rotate. Pneumatic hoses or vacuum lines are sometimes connected to provide vacuum suction or pressurized air to the rotary support. Pneumatic hoses may also carry compressed air to drive the servo motor or stepper motor coupled to the rotary support.
In a typical process, a processing station may be subjected to different processing conditions such as heating, actuator control, temperature control and rotational motion. Electronic components on a rotary support may be heated with power ranging from 200 mW to 2 kW to a temperature range of 40 to 500° C., and may need to be rotated at speeds of 10 to 10000 rpm. Cables and hoses connected to the rotary support supply the necessary input to create the conditions for carrying out such functions.
During rotational motion, the rotating support may cause extensive friction and tension to the cables and pneumatic hoses which are rigidly connected to the support. To provide proper manipulation of the connectors in a rotary environment, helical cables and springs are conventionally used as mounts for the hoses and cables connected to the support. Reliability issues may arise when an assembly of connectors mounted this way has been stressed by stretching for a prolonged period during use. The connectors may also become entangled and/or turn brittle as the connectors rotate with the rotating support. A stiff spring which carries heavy bundles of cables and hoses may also experience undesirably heavy recoil which brings about stress to the connectors and damages the bundled wiring.
Another type of integrated connector assembly is in the form of a linear energy chain. However, such an arrangement requires a relatively large area for manipulation of the linear energy chain, the inside of which is retracted and straightened during moving strokes. Furthermore, rotational movement may be inhibited due to mechanical constraints posed by the presence of adjacent modules. Therefore, the linear energy chain is usually not employed in environments where there are space constraints, such as inside compact semiconductor processing machinery.
The conventional arrangements of cables and hoses are therefore undesirable, especially when there are space constraints. In light of the disadvantages of the prior art as described above, it would be desirable to provide a compact integrated connector assembly which avoids the above limitations when it is used in association with a rotary apparatus or processing component.